


Sanscrushing

by idontevenknowugh



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Cherryberry - Freeform, First Time, Fluff, Genocide Run, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, Sanscest - Freeform, Secret Crush, UF Sans/UT Sans/US Sans, Updates Sporadically, aka it's all over the place, kustard - Freeform, sanswich
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-02 10:01:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8663092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idontevenknowugh/pseuds/idontevenknowugh
Summary: Fell Sans has a bit of a crush, and Tale Sans can't help but tease him a bit.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started this...3 months ago, sheesh! It wasn't going to be much of a thing, but it's got 3 parts and one more on the way, so I guess I might as well bring it over from Tumblr to live here, too. Mostly a stress relief fic, so updates will not be regular. Also, because I can't be bothered to make a proper narrative, I'll just be writing scenes as they come to me and it will all be out of order.

\--Swap Sans POV--

Sans tried _desperately_ to ignore the sounds of bickering behind him. He was already running late for his training with Alphys.

“hey fell, why is the letter t like an island?”

The royal guard hopeful applied his masterful self control and didn’t react to what he just knew was going to be some horrible joke.

“don’t you ever shut up?”

Not everyone was as patient and stalwart as the Magnificent Sans, he reminded himself. He heard Tale start to snicker before the next, most certainly cringe inducing words even started. Fell tried his best to groan over the punchline, but Tale was nothing if not devoted to his jokes.

“because it’s in the middle of water.”

Swap glanced over his shoulder to see that Tale was giving Fell one of his punchline smiles, the one that was over exaggerated and expectant. Fell looked like he might cry.

“i hate your jokes, dude. they aren’t even funny.”

Swap waved to the other two over to the path he had constructed bridge seeds. He heard them shuffle after him, conversation still flowing readily.

“aw, come on, cherry. i’m sure you have a funny bone in there somewhere.”

Sans clenched his hand, the glove bunching up. He literally had to bite his tongue at that one. His brother LOVED that joke, and hearing any of Papy’s regulars was ten times worse than any of Tale’s other jokes.

“don’t call me cherry!”

Fell was snarling. That wasn’t a good sign. Sans started composing his lecture to Papy for shoving the two off on him so the the taller skeleton could nap the day away. He had to make certain that it expressed his displeasure in a stern, but not angry, manner.

“sorry, you’re just so...round. and red. and tart.”

More snickering from Tale. He really knew how to rile Fell up, not that it was particularly hard. Whenever his Papyrus wasn’t around Fell became extra anxious and defensive. The two Sanses’ brothers were off in their own timelines, taking care of their own duties.

“we literally have the same body. idiot. and what do you mean by tart!?”

The other Papyruses had left their Sanses to spend the day with his brother, who had promptly suggested a take-your-cross-timeline-counterparts-to-work day. Sans, thrilled at the idea of instilling some of his work ethic in the other two, had jumped on the idea.

“did that upset you? ’m sour-y. ”

In his enthusiasm, he’d forgotten just how the two could be together. They really brought out the worst in each other. Fell never failed to react to Tale’s teasing, which Tale found hilarious. Tale brought out Fell’s absolutely awful sense of humor, which he had to keep under wraps in his own timeline. As he had explained it to Sans once, the wrong joke to the wrong monster and you had a fight on your hands.

“you’re a peach of shit, blue.”

“Fell, language!” Sans felt the admonishment slip out without his permission. Oh shoot, now he had gone and gotten involved. He heard Fell make a dismissive noise. When Sans stopped and turned around to face them, Fell was staring off to the side while Tale had an amazingly pleased expression on his face.

“sorry, swap,” Fell muttered.

Sans gave him a wide smile. “It’s alright, Fell. Just try to watch it while you’re here. There could be kids around.” Fell nodded at him, a bit of red dusting his cheeks. Tale’s grin had dropped and he was now eyeing Fell suspiciously, for some reason.

Sans gave the other skeleton a confused look. “Is something wrong, Tale?” he asked, voice full of concern. At that, all eye sockets were on Tale, making his cheeks gain a bit of color as well.

He coughed. “oh, no. just thinkin’” he started to smile again.

“Oh? About what?” Sans turned to continue on to Alphys’s, settling back into his normal cheerful attitude. At least they had stopped bickering. He heard Tale move up closer to him.

“nothin’ much,” he practically drawled, making it obvious that he was being facetious. “just kinda wondering why red is so nice to you, swap.”

Sans heard a choked cough from a ways behind them. The smallest of the skeletons beamed at his counterpart, “He’s nice to me because I’m nice to him, Tale. You really shouldn’t tease him so much, you know.”

Sans kept up his energetic pace, oblivious to the glaring match happening behind his back, “he wouldn’t be so hostile towards you if you stopped. It’s a lot like interacting with any other monster.” Sans mused on a good example, “take Lesser Dog, if you do things he likes, like petting him, he’s nice to you in return. The same principle applies to Fell!”

He was incredibly satisfied with his example, it was perfect! Trust the magnificent Sans to know the best way to explain things. Maybe he had even started them on the path to friendship! Stars blossomed in his eyes at the thought and he turned to see if Sans had any questions or needed further guidance.

What he hadn’t expected was to find the other two had stopped and were staring at him. Tale’s eyelight were little pin pricks, making his eyes look huge. He shook slightly. Fell just stared at Sans, jaw slack and red blush bright across his cheeks.

“What?” Sans asked, head tilted to one side.

The caves of waterfall erupted with Tale’s laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus: 
> 
> “wanna hear a real joke, tale? what do you call a guy with no arms or legs floating in the water?”
> 
> “bob.”
> 
> “oh for fuck’s sake, tale!”
> 
> “Language!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Tale Sans seems to have forgotten something. Well, he’ll make it work, he always does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my mind, Tale Sans and Fell Sans would be the kind of friends that don’t seem like friends. They antagonize each other, but they totally have each other’s backs when it matters. Let’s try not to ruin that, shall we?

~Tale Sans POV~

Sans stared at his two counterparts. Fell looked like he had literally been dragged out of bed and through the machine. Which somehow seemed likely as Swap stood there, grinning and still holding the half asleep skeleton by the carpels. Sans had to wonder what that had entailed, Fell having a solid two inches on the smallest Sans of the group.

“mornin’,” Sans said, more than a little confused as to why they were there.

“‘izat coffee?” Fell asked, eyelights hazy and unfocused.

“yeah, come on.” Sans led them upstairs and to the kitchen. He grabbed a mug and the pot, pouring Fell some. “how do you take it?”

Fell didn't answer. He just took the mug and a hearty sip. Sans could almost see it work, as the other monster came up out of his slouch somewhat and his eyelights sharpened.

“sorry i don't have anything else to offer. i wasn't really egg-specting guests.” He paused so that Swap could glare at him. Fell was still too out of it to react. Too bad. “so, uh, what are you guys doing here?”

“YOU DON’T REMEMBER? WE AGREED THAT WE WOULD COME VISIT YOU THIS TIME.”

“Hm, nope. Not ringing a bell.”

“LAST WEEK.” Swap pouted at him. “YOU WERE AT MY PLACE FOR MOVIE NIGHT.”

Sans remembered that, at least some of it. It was hardly Sans’s fault that Swap and Papy had a pretty comfortable floor. He remembered nodding along to something Swap was saying as he dozed off. Apparently this was it.

“um, yeah. that’s starting to sound familiar.”

There was an expectant silence while Sans wracked his brain for more information from movie night, but nothing was coming to him. Shit. Was he supposed to plan something?

“want to...watch tv?” Sans saw Swap deflate slightly at that. Fell, however, lifted his coffee mug in salute and beelined for the couch. Swap followed. He was too polite to ever actually complain, but Sans knew he had been hoping for something more out of a day in another timeline.

Lacking a better host, the three skeletons settled into the couch: Fell leaning on one armrest, Swap in the middle, and Sans against the other armrest. Sans turned on MTT, which this early in the day was a cooking show. Swap actually perked up when he saw it, and Sans remembered that Swap liked cooking as much as Papyrus did. Maybe this could work.

“so, does, um, what’s his name, from your timeline do cooking shows too?” Sans asked, attempting small talk.

“Not really,” Swap toned down his voice so he could hear the TV. “Napsttaton is a world class DJ, so most of his shows are music based. Musical cooking could be fun, though. Maybe I should call in and suggest it!” Swap’s eyes were suddenly stars and he had a light blue blush across his skull. Of course he was a fanboy. It was downright strange seeing so many of Papyrus’s traits in someone with Sans's face. Swap turned back to the TV, excitement making him fidget.

Sans glanced over at Fell, who was currently trying to ignore him and Swap. Every once in awhile his eyelights would dart over and then jump straight back to the TV. When he noticed Sans looking at him, he paused in the routine to blush slightly and glare at him. Sans just smiled back. Fell had it bad.

“tell me more about nabsttaton, swap.” Sans smirked at Fell, the chance to tease him too good to pass up. The glare intensified as Swap turned to Sans, beyond excited to talk about the idol.  
\------  
Twenty minutes later, Sans regretted everything. He blamed his mistakes on the fact that he was ambushed by the other two skeletons. It had left him all discombobulated. Swap was still gushing about the robot star, and he had even gotten up to gesture and act out some of his favorite Napsttaton moments.

In addition to having to listen to the flood of talking, Sans also was starting to feel pretty bad about his attempt to make Fell jealous. In the face of Swaps overwhelming admiration for the robot, Fell had slowly shrunk down into his hoodie, looking more and more depressed.

Sans wondered if there was some way to fix this. Teasing Fell was fun and all, but he didn't mean to actually hurt him. Seeking some way to stem the tide, Sans caught sight of the TV. MTT had moved on to a dance competition rerun. That could work.

“uh, hey swap.” The other monster paused in his story and looked at Sans expectantly. “sorry to interupt, but mettaton’s got a dance show on. thought you might want to take a look.”

Swap turned to the TV and was only watching for a moment before his pelvis started to shift slightly right and left to the beat. Oh stars. Sans glanced over at Fell and found he had started staring. Of course.

Soon enough Swap was dancing along with the music. Just like everything else, the other version of himself danced with pure enthusiasm and joy. It kind of warmed his soul to see that there was a Sans capable of that. Sans even found his phalanges tapping along with the beat. Swap had a good sense of rhythm and moved gracefully.

Sans smiled, glad that the other skeleton was enjoying himself, despite Sans’s failings. Fell had been staring non stop since the skeleton started dancing, but Swap was too caught up in it to notice. Which was probably for the best, as Fell was rocking one hell of a blush. Sans gave him a questioning look. Fell caught sight of it and glared at him again. Sans tilted his head at Swap. Sighing, Fell gave him a resigned look and nodded before turning his attention fully back to Swap. Sans smiled. All was forgiven. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jumping forward to after they've started dating. Have some angst!

~Fell Sans POV~

Sans was, dare he say it, a little excited to see the others today. He had been nervous at first, but things with Tale and Swap were going so well! The three of them really balanced each other out. He had barely been able to sleep last night as he tried to think up ways to give them an amazing day. A red flush and a smile crossed his skull as he cleaned the living room that morning. Boss had given him a strange look when he found Sans fluffing the couch cushions, but just shook his skull and walked off. Sans had been embarrassed, but that couldn’t overtake his excitement. Someday he’d be ready to tell Boss about them, but not yet. Soon.

His nervous energy had him running downstairs to check the machine every ten minutes or so in the hour leading up to the agreed on time. Papyrus left for ‘work’. The meeting time came and went. Sans stayed down in the basement fidgeting nervously. Had they forgotten? Did they decided they didn’t like him, finally? Had something happened? Twenty minutes passed before Tale stepped through with a smile. Sans tried to smile back, suddenly a even more nervous. Tale came up to him, phalanges still tucked in his jacket pockets, and bumped scapulae with him lightly.

“hey, been waiting long?” He asked, concern on his skull.

“n-no!” Sans had absolutely no desire for Tale to see just how badly the delay had affected him, for that matter, “you, uh, you beat swap here…”

Tale’s frowned at that. Swap was never late and often early. Sans’s soul raced as a million horrible possibilities raced through his mind. Arms wrapped around him, and he looked at Tale, startled. He hadn’t even had time to settle into a panic attack, the unexpected gesture interrupting his descent and drawing him back into reality.

“it could be something simple, like he lost track of time cooking,” Tale said, rubbing his phalanges along Sans’s spine. He melted into the other, a bit of moisture lining his sockets. Sans brought his arms up and hugged Tale tightly. He was right, for every bad explanation there were even more perfectly normal ones. Just because Sans’s soul still buzzed faintly with the echos of his anxiety didn’t mean that the worst was true.

“let’s go check,” Tale said. “if he has something he needs to take care of, we can help him out, alright?” He squeezed Sans a bit tighter before letting him go. Sans nodded and walked over to the control panel for the machine. Tears of undetermined origin teetered at the edge of his sockets. The best thing was to just do as Tale suggested: go see Swap and find out that everything was just fine.

The portal flared to life, and Tale took Sans’s phalanges in his own, prompting a smile from him. How lucky was he, to have found these two? They walked through together into a surprisingly cluttered basement. What had happened? Blue never let Stretch leave the lab in such a state. He had very primly pointed out that, now that they were receiving visitors from the other timelines, the basement was like their second front door.

Moving some boxes aside, Sans noticed that they were covered in a layer of grime. He swallowed down his tears. It, it could be from a project, right? Stretch tinkered sometimes. They all did. It wasn’t. It just wasn’t. Tale silently helped make a path, and they made it to the stairs. Neither said a word, but there was some urgency to their motions. Sans clamped down on his emotions to the point it felt like he would burst. Tale took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

Stretch stared at them from his spot on the couch. He jumped up and rushed over to them, blocking their exit from the basement and grabbing the door with one set of phalanges.

“what are you doing here?” he whispered at them, voice harried and rough. There were dark circles under his eyes, the kind that the two shorter skeletons knew all too well.

“what do you mean what are we doing here?” Tale whispered back, his voice thick with emotion. “we had plans with swap toda-”

“PAPY! IS SOMEONE HERE?” Swap’s voice called from the kitchen, and Sans felt his soul leap involuntarily. The question was innocuous, Swap clearly knew that they might receive visitors from their basement. He knew. He had to. He had just forgotten their plans. It was nothing. The smallest of the skeletons elbowed his way past his brother. Sans did everything in his power to ignore how distraught Stretch was. It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be.

“OH HI! I DON’T THINK WE’VE MET, I’M SANS!”


	4. Gryftmas Special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Swap and Stretch are hosting Gryftmas. Fluff ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the great feedback on this. <3 Time for a bit of Gryftmas cheer! 
> 
> I hope this makes up, kinda for the latter chapter. ^_^ This is, as I hope is clear, after the three Sanses start dating. Stretch is super supportive of their relationship. I really should write him finding out. I think Blue would be able to keep it secret for about 2 whole seconds.
> 
> I've decided they'll all go by their nicknames, no matter who's perspective it is from here on out, hopefully that's a bit easier.

~Swap Pap POV~

“PAPY!” Swap called out, once again. Sighing, Stretch took one last sip of his sadly virgin eggnog and hoisted himself to his feet.

“What is it, bro?” He called out as he made his way towards the kitchen. Rounding the corner, he found his brother on his tiptoes, attempting to staple a silver garland to the top wall above the cabinets, and falling way short. He bit back a chuckle.

“I REQUIRE SOME ASSISTANCE.” Swap fell back down onto his calcaneus with a frown. “I JUST BARELY CAN’T REACH.” Stretch fought off a wave of short jokes as he walked over to grab the garland and the stapler. While he could normally get away with at least a couple before his brother really lost it, today his brother was far too anxious to tolerate his jokes.

It was cute, really. His brother had been going full speed ever since he had come back from Edge and Fell’s timeline, near bursting with the need to share that they were going to host Gryftmas for the other skeletons. Swap always liked to entertain, but Stretch was well aware that there was more to it than that. He hid a smirk in the tinsel as he thought about his Gryftmas surprise for Sans. It was almost tempting to tell him and see his reaction early, but he resisted. Given too long to consider Stretch’s plans, Swap would inevitably feel guilty and insist they not do it.

“Why are we decorating the kitchen? The party will all be out in the living room?” He asked instead. He could hear pots clanking and silverware rattle. Swap had apparently begun on the food prep, now that the unnecessary garland was under control.

“THEY MIGHT WANDER INTO THE KITCHEN!” Swap exclaimed, his voice full of worry. “IF IT’S NOT DECORATED, IT MIGHT INTERRUPT THEIR FESTIVE CHEER!” Stopping what he was doing to give his brother a warm look, Stretch marveled at just how very Swap that was.

“Wouldn't want that, bro.” He put the last few staples in the wall. “Done.”

Swap surveyed his work with a critical socket, and after having him add some staples to a sagging part, found it satisfactory. Giving Stretch a huge grin, he thanked him and went back to cooking. Stretch grabbed a honey bottle and retreated to the living room. He had just sat down and uncapped it when he heard Swap.

“PAPY!”  
——————-  
“MERRY GRYFTMAS!”

“Yo.”

“PAPY!” Swap immediately forgot about welcoming their guests as he rounded on Stretch to berate him for his lazy greeting. Tale and Fell didn’t even try not to laugh, despite the fact that they would probably have done the same, to similar results.

The visiting skeletons praised the decorations and commented on the smell of the food as they filtered into the house from the basement. Gifts were placed under the tree and snacks, tiny tacos of course, were passed around. Everyone politely took one, even Edge, and complimented Swap on his cooking. If the rest were left on the platter, that was only because they were all too busy celebrating.

The gift exchange was a touch chaotic as Stretch, Tale, and Fell all wanted their brother to get to open presents first. In the end, the three skeletons all opened them at the same time, in a cacophony of ripping paper and excited shouts. Then, of course, each pair of brothers had brought gifts for each other pair of brothers. Stretch smiled at the similarities between the gifts, certain that Papyrus and Edge had picked them out, just as Swap had done for them. It was getting pretty late by the time they finished, and Stretch felt the time was right.

“Just one more,” he announced. The rest of the group began to look through the piles of paper scattered around the room, to see if they had missed one under the tree. While they were distracted, he teleported upstairs and back, his phalanges now containing a decent sized box.

“Here,” he caught Swap’s attention and handed him the box. Tale and Fell gave him looks, but he just smiled back. Swap looked at the card, his expression surprised.

“TO SWAP, FELL, AND TALE. FROM PAPY.” Swapblushed light blue and glanced up at him. Stretch nodded, indicating that the gift was safe to open. Swap set the box down and began to unwrap it. As he pulled the lid off, his eyelights turned into stars and he might have squealed a little, though no one in the room would say so.

Out came the three mugs, in each of their colors, with packets of hot chocolate in them. Swap gleefully shoved them into the other Sanses’ phalanges and set his safely aside. Tale and Fell blushed, but took them. Underneath the mugs was Swap’sfavorite NTT Gryftmas special, which had been unbelievably expensive, but Swap’s excitement made it worth every penny. Lastly, the box contained a blanket, large enough to cover the three monsters and very fuzzy. He had even managed to find one with bone patterns on it, through several rounds of shopping in New Home. Swap pulled it out in great heaping folds, laughing the whole time.

“PAPY, THANK YOU! I CAN’T WAIT TO DO A MOVIE NIGHT!” Swap turned to him. Stretch stopped fighting off his grin as he was given the perfect opening.

“Then don't.” Swap gave him a confused look. “Papyrus, Edge, how about we go get some Gryftmas cake from Muffet’s? My treat.” The two taller skeletons startled and then looked at him. Oh boy, he was going to have to dodge a lot of questions, wasn't he?

“NO, YOU GUYS DON’T HAVE TO LEAVE!” As expected, Swap protested, despite the fact that he was just about vibrating with excitement just a moment ago.

“Don't worry about it, bro. I’ll be a good host.” He smiled and came over to give Swap a hug. While they were embracing, he whispered. “Text me when it's safe to come home.” He laughed as Swap tried to break the hug a moment later, likely to glare at him, but he held on.

“I-IT’S NOT LIKE THAT.” He could feel his brother’s blush. “NOT YET.” That did startle a snicker out of him and this time Swap managed to wriggle himself free. He was, indeed, bright blue.

“Well then.” He gave Tale and Fell looks. “You three have some good, clean fun. We’ll see you later.” Fell sputtered at the implication, ending in a coughing fit, while Tale just glowed his own, darker shade of blue.

“SANS, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?” His brother asked. Tale just nodded and made vague shooing motions towards the door. Taking pity on them, Stretch helped herd his counterparts out of the house. Unable to help himself, he gave the three remaining skeletons a big wink before shutting the door behind himself.

Papyrus and Edge waited for him down the steps. Edge was glaring at him, while Papyrus was admiring the lights.

“OUR BROTHERS, HM?” Edge asked as Stretch led them into town. He felt a little bad that he had made things so obvious to his counterparts, rather than letting Tale and Fell tell them. Only a little. They would have figured it out eventually. Despite the way that Tale and Fell walked on eggshells, in an attempt to shield their brothers from the world, they actually had a very good grasp of life and all of its intricacies.

“IT ONLY MAKES SENSE,” Papyrus chimed in. Ever since getting to know the other Papyruses, Stretch had re-evaluated how he treated Swap, and had been a bit less protective of him. Not about everything, of course, but those secrets were his burdens to bear. He hoped that time around Swap would lead the others to do the same. It was nice, talking to his brother more openly.

“Yep,” he replied as he held the door to Muffet’s open for the other two.  
——————  
~Fell Sans POV~

“That guy,” Tale muttered as the door clicked closed. Fell was inclined to agree, but any way he could think to say so would just piss Swap off. He was so happy, humming Gryftmas songs while he flirted about the room gathering up discarded wrapping paper. Fell couldn't stay mad, or even embarrassed as he watched him.

“I’ll go heat up some water,” Tale said as he walked by on the way to the kitchen. Oh right, the cocoa. He’d almost forgotten. Fell followed after him, grabbing the mugs. Once Tale had the kettle going, Fell gave the mugs a quick wash, sure that Swap would appreciate it.

Once he was done, they dried them together, scapula to scapula, as they listened to Swap’s humming. Fell felt his soul seize up, tense in a way he was unfamiliar with. He looked around, seeking the source of his distress, but nothing appeared to him. He was, possibly for the first time ever, content. His soul, so used to the harshness of his own world, didn't seem to know what to do and ended up feeling like it was full of rocks and about to float away, at the same time.

“You okay?” Tale suddenly asked, and Fell realized that tears had started to form along the edges of his sockets. He set down the mug, his mug, next to the ones that represented his…his…his boyfriends. A tear slipped free as the reality of his life hit him like a fist to the skull. They were really doing this.

“OKAY, WE’RE ALL SET UP IN HERE!” Swap called just a moment before the kettle began to whistle.

“Shit,” Tale pulled it off the heat, and then looked ready to leave it to tend to Fell, who was trying to find his voice where it had been buried under all these damn emotions. Fell waved Tale back towards the mugs, sure that he only went because it was only a few steps away and he would still be on hand. The laid back skeleton kept glancing over as he mixed up the drinks. Fell wiped away the tears and then went to help carry the mugs.

Tale gave him a pointed, ‘you aren't getting out of this’ look as they walked over to where Swap was sitting on the couch, just about swimming in the enormous blanket. Drinks and skeletons situated and blanket wrapped sniffly around them all, Fell, in the middle this time, reached out and took hold of Swap’s phalanges around the remote before he could start the video.

“I just- Before we start, I’d like to-” he flushed, the warm, red glow all the more visible in the dim room. He looked pointedly at Tale, marking his words as his answer. “I have never been happier then I am right now.” Two sets of arms wrapped around him, and he nestled into their hold with a sigh.

“I love you two dorks.”

“Love ya, Fell.”

“WE LOVE YOU TOO! ALWAYS!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fell is injured. What else would Tale and Swap do, but take care of him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An anon request on Tumblr that got a liiiittle out of control. Haha. 
> 
> Thank you all for the lovely feedback and I hope you enjoy this bit of fluff! <3

~Swap Sans POV~

“YOU HAVE THE BANDAGES?”

“yes, though i’m sure that they have some.” Tale dug through the backpack, double checking their supplies before they left.

“A FEW MORE NEVER HURTS!” Swap pointed out, looking over the house to see if he had forgotten anything. The pile of containers full of taco fixings were sitting on the table, ready to go.

“true. is my joke book in here?” Tale asked, digging around a bit more with a concerned look on his skull.

“TALE! WE DON’T NEED THAT!” Sans frowned at the other skeleton. Tale’s jokes never failed to annoy Fell, and now was really not the time.

“sure we do. gotta keep him entertained.” Tale glanced up to give him a grin that said he knew full well what effect his humor would have. Swap gave him an exaggerated glare, to which the other skeleton winked in response. Swap felt himself blush a bit, and stalked over to the bookshelf to hide it.

“THAT’S WHY I WILL BRING NAPSTABLOOK’S COMPLETE ‘ROBOTS IN LOVE’ SERIES. WE KEEP MEANING TO WATCH IT.” He announced, plucking the box set off the shelf.

“…..right. i’m not sure now is really the time, though….” Tale suddenly sounded a lot less sure, but Swap ignored him and rolled his eyelights. He knew that Fell and Tale didn’t really like Mettaton in their respective worlds, but Napstablook was so much better!

“HE’LL LOVE IT!” Swap turned around, holding up the case.

“yep.” Tale gave him a bland look, but the edges of his mouth kept twitching upwards. Swap grinned back at him and handed over the show. Tale shoved it into the bag and zipped it up. “i think that’s everything. let’s go.”   
————-  
“what are you two doing here?” Fell pulled his blanket up, hiding everything but his sockets. Even so, a hint of red made it just above the barrier.

“I TOLD THEM,” Edge intoned, at the same moment Tale pointed a digit at the tall skeleton. Swap didn’t pay them any mind, depositing the stack of food containers on the table and then dropping to his patellae next to the couch.

“FELL! HOW ARE YOU? LET ME SEE.” He tried to pull the blanket down, but Fell stubbornly held onto it while glaring at him.

“why’d you call them, bro,” Fell grouched as he struggled with Swap. Edge glanced over with a brow bone raised.

“WHY DIDN’T YOU?” Edge asked, voice cold and disapproving. Fell ducked down further into his blanket, but Swap felt his grip loosen. Fell released his hold and rolled over onto his side with a hiss, facing the back of the couch. Swap didn’t press the advantage to remove the covering, instead giving Fell a concerned look as he tucked it around his scapulae.

Standing, he went back over to Edge and Tale, subdued. Glancing back at Fell, he saw that the other monster was shaking slightly. Drooping, he wondered what to do. Edge frowned and opened his mouth.

“could we have a moment with him,” Tale suddenly asked, “alone?” Edge’s mouth snapped shut. Swap stared at Tale, shocked at his rudeness. Edge was their host. Asking him to leave when they were in his house was-

“FINE,” Edge said, without sounding the least bit offended. “TAKE ALL THE TIME YOU NEED. SEE IF YOU CAN’T TALK SOME SENSE INTO HIM.” Both Sanses gave him a confused look. All he had told them was that Fell had been injured, but there seemed to be something more that Edge wanted of them. However, he turned and walked away with a sigh and no further explanation.

“I’LL BE AT UNDYNE’S,” he informed them and then was gone. Swap exchanged a glance with Tale. What exactly had happened?

Together this time, they approached Fell. He was definitely shaking, and they could hear muffled crying. Tale set the backpack down and perched on the edge of the couch by Fell’s legs. Swap stood back awkwardly, nervous, after his first attempt at checking on the other skeleton left him crying.

“shhhh,” Tale said, rubbing phalanges up and down Fell’s femur over the blanket. “deep breaths.” He turned and looked at Swap, raising one digit to his mouth in a sign for silence before waving Swap over to him. Feeling miserable, Swap did so. Once he was next to the sitting monster, he felt an arm wrap around his pelvis, pulling him close.

“it’s all going to be okay,” Tale said, tone still soothing. Swap watched anxiously as Fell’s crying slowed and eventually stopped. Tale’s skull leaned and rested on Swap while they waited. Swap rested a hand on top of it. The casual intimacy of the position was comforting. Tale clearly wasn’t mad at him for upsetting Fell. Now, if only he could help out the injured monster.

“what happened?” Tale asked, once silence had filled the room for a bit. Fell startled, and then turned to look at them, red streaks staining his skull. Swap’s soul pulsed unhappily.

“it’s nothing,” Fell said, looking down at the blanket.

“i doubt that,” Tale replied, lifting his skull. Swap’s hand dropped to his scapula. “we just want to help, fell. we care about you.”

Fell’s blush came back at that, his skull bright red as he ducked back down to stare at the couch again. Swap had to bite back the urge to enthusiastically agree. Clearly, Tale’s calm was doing a lot more good.

“come on, you’re making our cute little blueberry sad,” Tale said, giving Swap a little shake.

“WHAT?” Swap blurted out, flushing. Fell was startled into looking back at them, expression unreadable. Then, suddenly, he laughed, though it was weak and still a little watery.

“what is your deal with fruit?” He asked, brow bone rising. “you call me cherry and now swap’s a blueberry.”

Tale chuckled. “you guys are just so sweet and delicious, i feel like i could just about eat you up.”

Swap stared down at the other monster in horror as he raised his brow bones three times, with an expression that was downright scandalous.

“TALE!” He whined, pulling free so he could step back and glare at him while he lectured. As he did so, he noticed that Fell was sitting up a little more, and, while he looked flustered by the statement, a hint of a smile was appearing on his skull.

“THEN WHAT ARE YOU?” Swap asked, trying a different tactic. The other two looked at him, questioning. “IF WE’RE FRUITS, THEN SO ARE YOU. WHAT KIND?”

Once he recovered from his surprise, Tale smiled and considered the question, but Fell beat him to it.

“he’s a banana,” he said with certainty.

“A banana?” Tale asked, surprised. “how do you figure?” Fell turned so he was laying back against his pillow again, the position making it easier to talk. Swap was happy to see him relax.

“because he’s a source of shitty jokes,” Swap bit back an admonishment. “goes well with other fruits, and, turns out, is really good for us.”

Swap looked at Tale, who had finally joined them in blushing over this odd topic. When he noticed them staring at him, he flushed a little more, before straightening his spine.

“i like it. know what else a banana looks like?” He winked, and Swap had to turn away he was so embarrassed. Fell, however, let out a gawfaw.

“yeah, you are kind of a di-”

“LANGUAGE!” Sans squeaked, at his limit, though he was still looking away from the others.

“heh,” Fell started to laugh, Tale joining him shortly thereafter. Swap turned to see them smiling and his embarrassment faded away. He smiled along with them, until Fell suddenly stopped with a hiss, a hands flying up to his rib cage. Tale and Swap exchanged worried glances.

“you ready to share?” Tale asked. Fell frowned and hesitated, but nodded and pulled down the blanket. Swap couldn’t help but stare as it reveled a large section of Fell’s rib cage covered in bandages.

“stars, fell, what happened?” Tale breathed. Swap stepped closer, examining the wrappings. They were perfectly done, clearly Edge’s work. The image of the tall skeleton patiently wrapping up his brother’s wounds warmed Swap’s soul.

“there was a…a fight,” he said, looking away from them. Swap brought his phalanges up to cover his mouth.

“OH NO! WHY?” He asked. He knew fights were more common here than back home, where they were almost unheard of. He just hadn’t really considered that Fell might get caught up in them, despite the scars littering his body. It had always seemed like Edge was the fighter of the two.

“monster kid, i think i’ve seen him around your timeline, tale, he was being harassed by some jerks, and i just…you know.” He still refused to look at them.

Swap gave him a fond smile. Despite his harsh world, Fell was a very principled monster. It was one of his, many, charms. Still…

“THAT WAS VERY BRAVE OF YOU,” He said, making sure that he still wore the smile when Fell looked over at him, despite his worry. “BUT THE RISK…. YOU SHOULD HAVE CALLED YOUR BROTHER.”

Fell looked away, glum. That must have been what Edge was talking about. Swap could very well imagine him saying the same thing, but much more…intensely.

“how many?” Tale asked, still rubbing along Fell’s femur. There were moments that Swap became keenly aware that, while they shared a name and stature, Tale and Fell shared some very stark differences from him. The question sounded loaded, but he knew better to ask, remembering his brother’s words.

**“being with those two, probably won’t be easy. they’re gonna have secrets, bro. know that they keep, or share, them out of love. whatever they decide to tell you…well, so be it. just…don’t press them. it’s hard enough as-is.”**

The solemn way his normally smiling brother had delivered the warning had kept Swap from asking further. He held that in his mind as he fought off the urge to ask just what he was missing in the current conversation.

“five,” Fell answered reluctantly. Tale swatted his leg, softly, and frowned.

“you should have taken monster kid and ran, you idiot.” He said. “what good do you do by getting hurt…or…?”

“I…i don’t know,” Fell began to sniff, and tears rolled down his skull. Swap knelt down again, throwing his arms around the other monster.

“WE’RE JUST WORRIED, PLEASE, PLEASE DON’T BE UPSET.” He cried, holding Fell close as he felt him shake. “WE CARE ABOUT YOU, FELL.”

“w-why?” He heard Fell whisper, and Swap began to tear up himself.

“BECAUSE YOU’RE YOU,” Swap replied and pulled back from the hug to give Fell a kiss, just a soft clack of their teeth. Even that made Swap blush. He glanced over at Tale, who was grinning.

“cute,” was all he said. Fell sputtered and pulled the blanket up, this time all the way over his skull. Tale laughed and stood.

“since you’re looking a little more lively, how about some food? swap cooked for us.” Fell peeked out from the blanket at the stack of containers. He dropped the blanket and nodded, still blushing. Swap lept to his feet.

“ALRIGHT, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS WILL GO AND PREPARE AN AMAZING DINNER THAT IS IS SURE TO HAVE YOU FEELING BETTER IN NO TIME!” He announced before rushing to pick up the food and take it into the kitchen. He set it on the counter and rushed back out, startling Tale and Fell. They watched on, curious, as he dug through the backpack. He pulled out the video and threw it into Tale’s hands.

“GO AHEAD AND START. I’VE SEEN IT!” he said before returning to his task. Tale’s soft chuckle followed him.

“you’re gonna love this, fell.”

 


	6. Christmas Special 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas at the Sanses'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, been a bit since this got any love. I've had to prioritize other things but when I thought to do something for Christmas, there wasn't a question of who to write it for. I hope you guys enjoy the way, way over the top fluff. Hahaha. I just couldn't let it end on Tale feeling sad about Stretch. Sorry for any mistakes. I wrote it this morning. Hahaha. 
> 
> Merry Christmas!

“Oh my god, Swap, it looks fine,” Fell grumbled, hands hovering around Swap’s waist as he balanced on hit tip toes, the stepladder rocking precariously beneath him. Tale was inclined to agree, seeing absolutely nothing wrong with the tree’s decorations and everything wrong with Swap hurting himself trying to ‘fix’ them.

“I’M ALMOST DONE,” Swap retorted, straightening a bit of tinsel. Fell glanced back at Tale, his expression defiant, and Tale wondered if he’d just grab Swap off the stool anyways. That wasn’t likely to go any better, but Fell was nothing if not rash. Tale breathed a sigh of relief when Swap really did come down on his own.

“NOW IT LOOKS PERFECT!” he grinned at them, looking too pleased with himself for Tale to be upset about the last anxiety inducing ten minutes. Fell did not look as appeased, but Swap gave him a gentle smile and kissed him on the cheek as he headed for the kitchen. The red blush the chaste affection caused was both absurd and endearing.  
——  
“MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Swap yelled, making Tale, Fell, and Stretch wince.

“MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Papyrus responded enthusiastically, throwing his arms up with excitement. Swap matched the gesture and they proceeded to trade increasingly loud greetings.

“Bro, what the fuck…?” Fell was trying not to laugh while he stared at Edge, who was doing his best to avoid notice behind the others.

“Not. A. Word,” Edge hissed, flipping his brother off and turning to stare away from them with his arms crossed. Tale glanced at Stretch, who looked beyond amused by his counterpart’s discomfort.

“Papyrus insisted,” he said with a shrug. “I guess he felt like Edge’s red uniform was the perfect base.”

Tale smiled. That sounded exactly like his brother, and he would have been right except that Edge’s uniform was covered in spikes and chains. The addition of a fake beard and a Santa hat didn’t really do anything but make him look ridiculous. Of course, Papyrus’s sincere admiration of Edge, a fully fledged guard member, had won the grumpy skeleton over almost immediately, and he had been helpless against Papyrus ever since.

“So, this is your guys’ place,” Stretch mused, pulling Tale away from his thoughts. He was looking around the modest apartment with a critical eye. He hadn’t been thrilled when Swap announced he was moving to Tale’s world to live with him and Fell. It had created a divide between Tale, Fell, and Stretch that hadn’t quite healed. Swap frequently went home to visit, but Stretch hadn’t been convinced to come over until Swap took a hard stance on spending Christmas with them.

“Yep,” Fell responded, voice already defensive. He threw one arm around Tale,’s shoulders, startling him. Tale leaned gratefully into him, welcoming the haven from his melancholy thoughts. He knew how he would have felt if Papyrus up and left, and still felt guilty for ignoring Stretch’s feelings on the matter. Stretch gave them a long look. He had always been supportive, up until that point.

“It’s nice,” he backed down, his slouch becoming more pronounced. He turned and walked over to Swap and Papyrus, interrupting them to greet his brother. It wasn’t the easy friendship they’d had with Stretch before, but maybe he was settling into the idea. Swap gave his brother a grin and offered to show him around, which Stretch readily agreed to.

“You okay?” Fell asked, giving Tale a squeeze. Tale let his skull fall onto Fell’s shoulder and nodded against him.

“Yeah,” he murmured. Swap was beaming as he showed off their home, which he had kept pristine for today with a lot of adorably toothless threats at Fell and Tale. They’d hardly been necessary. The very thought of disappointing him on his favorite holiday had kept them, and their socks, in line.

“He’ll come around,” Fell murmured back, creating a little pocket of calm for Tale in the hustle and bustle around them. “You know he wants Swap to be happy, and he is. It’ll just take a bit for Stretch to acknowledge it.” Tale nodded again. He knew that, but in the meantime it still kind of hurt.

“Now come on, we can’t be bringing the party down after all Swap’s hard work. Let’s go enjoy ourselves.” Fell removed his arm, moving towards the others.

“If you’re Santa,” he snarked at his brother. “I hope you brought the presents.”

“As if I’d forget something that important,” Edge indicated a bag near his feet, his embarrassment replaced by indignation. “I’m not you.”  
——  
“No, leave those for last,” Fell, waved Swap back when he looked at three almost identical boxes, in each of their colors. Swap gave him a curious look but did as he asked, dolling out the other presents around the tree.

When those had been opened and exclaimed over he went back to the boxes, which were unmarked other than the clear color scheme. Tale looked his deep blue box over curiously. Last year Stretch had given them all gifts, but that seemed incredibly unlikely this year. Fell sat next to him, fidgeting with the bow on his red box.

“Shall we?” Swap asked, voice high and excited. Tale nodded and untied the ribbon, letting it fall into his lap while he worked on the paper. It too fell away, leaving him with a nondescript black box with a lid. Glancing up, he made sure the others had gotten that far before pulling the lid off.

A simple sliver ring sat on a velvet pillow. Mouth hanging open, Tale picked it up and turned it so he could see the outside of the band. Two stripes of color went the full length around it, one light blue and the other red. Looking up, he found Swap admiring a similar ring, but dark blue and red. Fell hadn’t even opened his box, looking between Swap and Tale anxiously.

“Was this you?” Tale asked softly, emotion creeping up on him. They were stunningly thoughtful gifts for the lazy, cynical monster.

“They aren’t anythin’ special,” Fell muttered, his face bright red. “Just silver an’ acrylic. And they aren’t, like, anythin’ formal. Just a token of…us… if that’s somethin’ you guys would-” His increasingly wobbly rambling was interrupted by Swap basically tackling him in a hug.

“Of course we do,” Tale responded, slipping the ring onto his left ring finger. It fit perfectly, but then all Fell had to do was measure his own finger, didn’t he?

“Let us see yours!” Swap hadn’t let Fell go, but he shifted his grip so Fell could free his arms. He opened the box with the same embarrassed flush to display a ring with light and dark blue bands on it. Swap squealed with pleasure and grabbed it, much to Fell’s dismay.

“Tale, get over here,” Swap demanded, and Tale was all too happy to agree. “Oh, you already put yours on.” Tale flushed and pulled the ring off, letting it sit in his hand instead.

Swap quickly snatched it, replacing it with Fell’s. Swap’s was handed to Fell, leaving Swap with only Tale’s.

“All together now, he instructed,” holding his left hand out to Fell, who looked about ready to faint. Tale smiled at Swap’s insistence on the little ceremony, despite Fell’s assertion that they weren’t engagement rings. It was cute. He held out his hand to Swap with more than a little tenderness soaking into his soul. Fell’s hand was harder to coax out, but they managed it.

When they all slipped each other’s rings on, Papyrus started crying, and Tale flushed a the realization that their brothers were still there. Papyrus rushed them, doing his best to hug all three of them at once. Edge just looked vaguely uncomfortable, though he was smiling. Stretch was looking down at his drink. He glanced up once, catching Tale’s sockets and giving him a half smile. Fell was right, he would come around.

Tale shifted in Papyrus’s arms until he could slip his arms around both Fell and Swap, holding them tight to himself. Until then, he couldn’t complain. He had the most amazing lovers in the world with him every day.

**Author's Note:**

> http://idontevenknowwhattoputhereugh.tumblr.com/
> 
> My tumblr is where I: take requests, post streams, chit chat, do teasers, try out new fics, reblog a lot of skeleton porn, pimp all my favorite fics


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